Rail connecting means



E. J. BOWDEN RAH CONNECTING MEANS Fild Sept. 12. 1929 Aug. 18, 19315 I INVENTOR: Erzzesi J BUZZ/026174 A TTORNEYS.

10 cal webs of the rails.

Patented Aug. 18, 1931 PATENT oFFIcE ERNEST J BOWDEN, OF WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA RAIL CONNECTING MEANS Application filed September 12, 1929. .Serial No. 892,072.

. 5 fish plates to engage in the hollowsat opposite sides of the rails over the butt joints between the contiguous rail sections, and to secure such fish plates by screw bolts extending crosswise through them and the verti- To prevent relative lateral play as between the ends of the rail sections at the joints, it is obviously necessary that the fish plates contact intimately with the rails. In order to insure this con 15 dition, it often happened that the screw bolts aforesaid were drawn up too tight thereby preventing or interfering withthe longitudinal expansion and contraction of the rails under varying atmospheric condi- 20 tions of heat and cold.

My invention is directed toward overcoming the above recited drawbacks of previous practice by providing a structurally simple, reliable, inexpensive, easily assembled and 25 disassembled,-rail connecting means through which this desideratum is secured.

In the drawings, Fig. I isa fragmentary perspective view of a rail joint connecting means conveniently embodying my invention, a portion being broken out toexpose important details of construction.

Fig. II "s across section, taken as indicated by the arrows II'-"II in Fig. I. Y

Fig. III is a perspectiveview of one of the fish plates which I employ in my rail connecting means;

' Fig. IV is a fragmentary detail planview, taken as indicated'by the arrows IVIV in Fig. II. i Figs. V and VI are perspective illustrations of other parts of therail connecting means; and, Fig. VII is a view, similarto Fig.'V, showing a slight modification.

- In carrying out my invention, Iprovide, as shown in the several illustrations, companion fish plates 10, that are appropriately configured in cross section to snugly fit the hollows of the contiguous rail sections 11, 12

which are to be connected, over thejoint 13 between them. From Figs. I-III it will be observed that the fish plates are formed at their bottoms with lateral flanges l ito overlie the base flanges 15 of the rail sections 11, 12. For a purpose later on explained, the vertical faces of the fish plates 10 are provided at'intervals with openings 16 which, in the present instances, are square in outline and adapted to register with correspondingly allocated longitudinally elongated openings 17 (Figs. IV) in the vertical medial webs of the rail sections 11, 12. In the same vertical planes with the openings 16, the lateral flanges let of the fish plates 10 are provided with apertures 18 for registry, in turn, with longitudinally-elongated apertures 19 in the base flanges 15 of the rail sections 11, 12, said apertures 18, 19 being very accurately machined and progressively tapered relatively.

My rail connecting means further embodies key elements 20, whereof one is detailed in Fig. V, such as may be readily out to length from bar stock of square crosssection to accurately fit the square openings '16 in the fish plates 10. Adjacent their ends,

the keys 20 are provided with tapered apertures 21 which are spaced to correspond exactlywith the transverse spacing of the longitudinally-elongated apertures 19 in the base flanges 15 of therail sections 11,12 and adapted to receive keepers such as shown at 22, and illustrated in perspective in Fig. VI. Each keeper 22 has a shank 23which is accurately tapered to fit the progressively tapered apertures'21, 18 and 19, respectively in the ends of the keys 20, in the flanges 1 1 of the fish plates 10, and in the base flanges 15 of the rail sections 11, 12. At their upper ends. the keepers 22 are formed with polygonal heads 24 whereof one side face 25 is in each instance finished ofi tangentially with the shank 23.

In assembling my improved rail connecting'means, the fish plates 10 are first applied over the joint 13 between the contiguous rail sections 11, 12 at opposite sides of the latter, as in Fig. I, and the keys '20 are then ings 17 in the rail sections 11, 12. The keepers 22 are next applied with their shanks 23 engaging through the apertures 21 at the ends of the key pieces 20 and the progressively tapered apertures 18, 19 respectively in the fish plate flanges 14 and the rail flanges 15, with the tangential faces 25 of their heads 24 innermost, as in Fig. II. The keepers 22 are then finally driven home with the aid of a hammer or other suitable tool until their heads 24 rest on the keys 20; and v in this connection it is to be particularly noted that, by virtue of the taper of their shanks 23, and the described accurate allocation and machining of the apertures 18, 19 which they traverse, the keepers 22 operate after the manner of wedges to compress the fish plates 10 into intimate contact with the rail sections 11, 12, thereby to effectively hold the latter against relative play both as regards sidewise and up and down movement and yet permit their free contraction and expansion lengthwise under varying conditions of heat and cold. Incident to such action, the keys 20 are accorded the necessary latitude of movement in the longitudinally elongated openings 17 in the medial webs of the rails 11, 12, and the bottom ends of the keeper shanks 23 in the longitudinally elongated apertures 19 in the rail flanges 15.

To hold the keepers 22 against rising after the parts have been assembled as just described, I may pierce their shanks 23 crosswise, as at 26, for reception of cotter pins 27 at a level beneath the keys 20; or I may drill and tap the ends of the keys for reception of set screws 28, as shown in Fig. VII, to en age the shanks 23 of said keepers.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a rail connecting means that is structurally simple, inexpensive, eas ily and quickly assembled or disassembled, and which, moreover, insures efi'ective coupling of contiguous rail sections to the avoidance of any binding likely to prevent or interfere with lengthwise expansion and contraction of the rails.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. Hail connecting means comprising companion fish plates with lateral flanges at their bottoms appropriately configured to snugly fit the side hollows of the rails over the joint between contiguous rail sections at opposite sides but not projecting beyond the rail head or base flanges respectively, key elements engaging through coordinated openings in the fish plates and through registering longitudinally elongated apertures in the rail sections with their ends protruding; and headed wedge keeper means having tangential faces abutting the fish plates and engaging crosswise through the ends of the key el ments to maintain the fish plates in intimate contact with the rails but with allowance for relative endwise movement of the latter incident to expansion and contraction.

2. Rail connecting means comprising companion fish plates with lateral flanges at their bottoms appropriately configured to snugly fit the side hollows of the rails over the joint between contiguous rail sections at opposite sides but not projecting beyond the rail head or base flanges respectively, key elements engaging through coordinated openings in the fish plates and through registering longitudinally elongated apertures in the rail sections with their ends protruding beyond said fish plates; and headed tapered wedge keepers engaging crosswise through the ends of the key elements with a tangential head face engaging the associated fish plate outer surface to maintain said fish plates in intimate contact with the rails but with allowance for relative endwise movement of the latter incident to expansion and contraction.

3. Rail connecting means comprising companion fish plates with lateral flanges at their bottoms appropriately configured to snugly fit the side hollows of the rails over the joint between contiguous rail sections at opposite sides but not projecting beyond the rail head or base flanges respectively, key elements of angular cross section engaging with close fit through correspondingly configured apertures in the fish plates and through longitudinally elongated apertures in the rail sections with their ends protruding beyond said fish plates; and headed wedge keeper means with taper shanks engaging crosswise of the ends of the key elements to maintain the fish plates in intimate contact with the rails but with allowance for relative endwise movement of the latter incident to expansion and contraction.

4L. Rail connecting means comprising companion fish plates appropriately configured to secure the same against displacement in the assemblage.

5. Ball connecting means comprismg companion fish plates appropriately configured to snugly fit the side hollows of the rails over the joint between contiguous rail sections at opposite sides; key elements engaging coordinated openings in the fish plates and through registering longitudinally elongated apertures in the rail sections with their ends protruding beyond said fish plates; headed keepers with tapered Wedge shanks engaging crosswise of the-ends of the keys to maintain the fish plates in intimate contact with the rails but with allowance for relative endwise movement of the latter incident to expansion and contraction; and means cooperative with the heads of the keepers to secure said keepers against displacement in the assemblage.

6. Rail connecting means comprising companion fish plates appropriately configured to snugly fit the side hollows of the rails 7 over the joint between contiguous rail sections at opposite sides; key elements engaging with close fit through coordinated openings in the fish plates and through registering longitudinally elongated apertures in the rail sections with their ends protruding beyond said fish plates; and headed keepers with tapered wedge shanks extending vertically down through apertures crosswise of the ends of the key elements, and then through apertures in lateral flanges of said fish plates into registering longitudinally elongated apertures in the base flanges of the rails, the heads of the keepers each having one side finished-off tangentially to the shank and all said apertures being progressively tapered to correspond with the keeper shanks whereby said fish plates are maintained in intimate contact with the rail sections to prevent lateral play while permitting relative endwise movement of the latter incident to expansion and contraction.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- Vania, this 9th day of September, 1929.

ERNEST J. BOWDEN. 

